In 219 BC, when Emperor Qin
Shihuang arrived in Langya (today's Zhucheng in East China's Shangdong
Province) during a sea cruise, Xu Fu (a man of the Qi State) and others,
claiming there were three divine mountains in the sea, submitted a request to
the emperor, asking him to send children to search for the elixir of life. The
emperor, believing what the group said, sent thousands of little boys and girls
to accompany Xu on the voyage. However, several years passed and a great deal of
money was spent without any results.

In 210 BC, when Emperor Qin cruised Langya again, Xu Fu, fearing to be
blamed, lied to the emperor, saying there were many sharks in the sea and so the
Imperial Court should send archers to get rid of them. This time, Emperor Qin
sent 3,000 little boys and girls, together with hundreds of artisans, to
accompany Xu.

According to research, it was probable that Xu Fu
followed such a route: He started

Possible sea route taken
by Xu Fu to arrive in Japan

off from the Shangdong Peninsula; then, via the Bohai Valley, he arrived
at the Liaodong Peninsula before moving on along the coastal area of the Korean
Peninsula to reach the Tsushima Strait; finally, he arrived in Kitakyushu via
Okinawa Island.

Xu Fu's achievements in reaching Japan by sea show the ancient Chinese people
had a good mastery of the technologies and knowledge on oceangoing navigation.
Today, Xu Fu's tomb can still be found in Wakayama (Japan), with the inscription
of "Tomb of Xu Fu of the Qin
Dynasty (221-206BC)."